Unethical behavior is just a short step away from unlawful behavior. When government officials violate ethics and laws the result is unnecessary public waste, a waste that is reflected in higher taxes, lost opportunities and diminished quality of life
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Part II - The Culture of Corruption and How It Works
“Money is choking our democracy to death. Our elections are bought out from under us and our public officials are doing the bidding of mercenaries.”
– Bill Moyers Campaign money “opens the door so we can have an audience. We are competitive in everything we do, and that includes making contributions.”
– Dale Linebarger “The firm has tried to build political networks - as would any other business.”
– Dale Linebarger By Charles O'Dell, Ph.D.
There are many examples of public officials doing the bidding of mercenaries in Hays County. Part II highlights only a few of them. Dale Linebarger (class of ’61) and Randall Morris (’55) both graduated from San Marcos High School and have been designated Distinguished Alumni.Over the years, Dale Linebarger has been a top political campaign contributor and the Linebarger firm has employed former tax collectors for government entities; a former county judge in Dallas; former Texas Gov. Mark White; former U.S. Rep. Craig Washington Jr., D-Houston; current and past state Reps. Debra Danburg, Senfronia Thompson and Larry Evans of Houston; state Sen. J.E. "Buster" Brown, R-Lake Jackson; former state Rep. Orlando Garcia, now a federal judge; the wife of former U.S. Rep. Albert Bustamante, D-San Antonio; state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio; and a Canadian lobbyist who was a fund-raiser for Mike Harris, former premier of Ontario.
The San Marcos connection
According to archived newspaper reports, when San Marcos Mayor Kathy Morris decided not to run for reelection in 1992, she denied claims of insider dealings with her local developer husband Randall Morris had anything to do with her decision.
Today, Randall Morris is a major campaign contributor to San Marcos Mayor Susan Narvaiz, Hays County Commissioners Will Conley, Jeff Barton and others. Morris has benefited financially from transactions that Narvaiz, Conley and Barton have supported if not guided. See: Good Ole Boys
Mayor Narvaiz brought City sewer and water infrastructure to a Morris subdivision development project south of town when he needed it, and widened State Hwy 123 with turn lanes for Morris. There are those who believe local attorney Dale Linebarger, a partner in the largest delinquent tax collection firm operating throughout Texas, and whose wife was a Pedernales Electric Coop (PEC) board member until pressured to resign, is a silent partner of Morris.
In 2004, the City’s nonprofit Village of San Marcos suddenly retracted its offer for another campus location and purchased flood plain property from Morris at an inflated price. Morris was left with a few remaining prime lots that were rezoned for commercial use and valued many times the price he paid for the entire property he flipped to the City.
Pressing Morris’ financial advantage still further, Mayor Narvaiz, with help from Pct. 3 County Commissioner Will Conley, worked to obtain $1.6 million from the County’s parks and open space bond fund for sewer and city street extensions that increased the value of Morris’ remaining commercial lots. The Morris property is located in Pct. 1, but Morris is a big contributor to Pct 3 Commissioner Conley.
The only reason for special interests to make financial contributions to election campaigns is their expectation of future financial returns. In 2005 the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District (SMCISD) board chose to build its new high school adjacent to a 71 acre tract owned by Morris even though more suitable sites were available, and despite a major problem of redirecting considerable storm water runoff onto adjoining property. Diverting storm water runoff onto adjoining property is illegal, and yet the City of San Marcos Planning and Zoning Department recommended and Narvaiz’s City Council approved the project in total disregard of the City development ordinances and state laws designed to protect individual property rights. This is what political influence is about.
Morris, Narvaiz and the school board were all aware that locating an Austin Community College (ACC) campus on Morris’ property would make his subdivision development much more valuable. The ACC project was derailed in the summer of 2005 when massive voter fraud occurred during the petition drive by the ACC San Marcos Yes! Committee, funded almost entirely by Morris, and who offered to donate 38 acres for a satellite campus on his State Hwy 123 subdivision.
“If this ACC petition fraud isn’t taken seriously, then how can the state legislature be serious about voter ID?”
– Joyce Cowen, Hays County Elections Administrator
Public officials and well connected people are not prosecuted in Hays County.
Mark Littlefield, Campaign Manager for State Rep. Patrick Rose, apparently took the fall but the matter has been quietly bottled up in the State Attorney General Office for three years. Morris and his son Carter have contributed $14,330 to Rose’s campaign.
Randall Morris also stands to benefit financially from the $30 million FM110 developer road pushed by Narvaiz and Hays County Commissioners Debbie Ingalsbe, Will Conley and Jeff Barton. Given Morris’ financial contributions to Precinct 3 Commissioner Conley, it was not surprising when Conley took an active role in Precinct 1 to convince property owners that construction of FM110 would be to their advantage.
After one 80-year-old couple politely insisted that Conley leave their property, Conley retaliated by having the San Marcos law firm handling right-of-way acquisition for the county, Duvall Gruning & Dietz, PLLC, file an illegal suit against the elderly couple. Conley did so without commissioners’ court authorization and in his sworn affidavit made false claims. Attorney James Duvall surely knew the suit was illegal. We believe Duvall’s action has violated his professional code of ethics and that he has engaged in conflicts of interest with Hays County.
When HaysCAN sided with the elderly couple Conley promptly had his illegal suit withdrawn. During Conley’s blatant abuse of authority Commissioner Ingalsbe remained silent regarding his retaliation against two of her elderly constituents. According to public financial records, Morris has also invested in other elected officials and his influence is widely felt in San Marcos.
Other insiders also know how to play the game to benefit financially from public projects approved by elected officials whose election campaigns these insiders help to finance. Tom Loomis who lives in Austin has also made sizable campaign contributions to a number of elected officials, including San Marcos City Council member Kim Porterfield, wife of Winton Porterfield. Winton is Hays County point man for Loomis Partners, Inc., formerly Loomis Austin, a firm that continues to participate in projects throughout Hays County, including the new SMCISD high school, the County’s habitat conservation plan project, the Wimberley loop project and others. Commissioners Barton and Conley both received substantial contributions from Tom Loomis.
Unethical behavior is just a short step away from unlawful behavior. When government officials violate ethics and laws the result is unnecessary public waste, a waste that is reflected in higher taxes, lost opportunities and diminished quality of life. Such official misbehavior also undermines the foundation of our representative government.
The Hays County Road Bond connection
Susie Carter, a Kyle area Republican and former Precinct 2 Hays County Commissioner, was the bane of Good Ole Boys and she had to go. Attacked by Good Ole Boys from both political parties in the 2006 election, Carter didn’t stand a chance against Democrat Jeff Barton, who, along with former County Judge Eddie Etheredge had been turned out of office in 1997 amid cries of corruption and wasteful spending. The influx of new residents during the following nine years effectively erased voter memory.
Commissioner Barton wasted no time in attacking fellow Democrat Liz Sumter who engineered a stunning upset over Republican County Judge Jim Powers in November 2006. Barton had his own agenda and at the top was to get a huge special interest road bond passed that would expand three state roads and pave the way for still more development in Hays County, including in the Kyle/Buda area where the Barton’s own many properties.
These road and development special interests had funded the campaigns of Barton and two years earlier Republican candidate Will Conley for Pct. 3 County Commissioner. Now Barton and Conley had to deliver on those special interest investments. The Barton/Conley 2007 special interest road bond proposition failed after a citizens group gave voters factual information about the state highway projects to be funded by local property taxes.
Barton and Conley were undeterred by the voters. In the 2008 presidential election Barton and Conley got commissioners’ court to approve over a half million dollars of tax revenues to launch a propaganda campaign directed at new voters who live in Hays County but work in Austin. The campaign worked and now our local property taxes are being diverted to pay for state and federal highway projects costing over $225 million dollars that will reward Barton and Conley special interests.
Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties. Governments are susceptible to political corruption. Forms of corruption vary, but most common are bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft and embezzlement.
The Environmental Health & Road and Bridges connection
No department exhibits a history of cronyism, nepotism, or patronage more than the Hays County Environmental Health or the Road and Bridges departments. Allen Walther, who headed up EHD during the Etheredge/Barton 1990’s, retired in the first weeks of Sumter’s term after she had campaigned to root out government corruption. That left Tom Pope, EHD Programs Manager for onsite septic system facilities (OSSF), to carry on the non-enforcement tradition of EHD. But Pope got himself into what should have been serious trouble when he was caught permitting a non-compliant OSSF for Nick Ramus and then, we believe, tried to cover it up.
The remedy for unethical public officials is removal from office, and unethical professionals can have their professional licenses revoked or be barred from practice. Public officials and their accomplices who violate our laws should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Barton and Conley’s opportunity to save Pope came just four months into the Sumter term in the form of a 3-2 commissioners’ court vote that voided the illegal Ramus commercial OSSF permit issued in September 2006 by Tom Pope. Barton and Conley voted against revoking the permit and thus began a campaign to save a corrupt EHD by holding up Ramus as a victim of bad government. The details of this sorry episode of corruption, cover-up and orchestrated failure to investigate and prosecute crime in Hays County are the subject of Part III.
As co-founder of Hays Community Action Network (HaysCAN) in 2003, Mr. O’Dell strives to carry out the mission of ensuring open, accessible and accountable government. He is a long time and close observer of the workings of the Hays County Commissioners Court. He earned a degree in Agricultural Education and a Masters in Ag Economics at Texas Tech, and, later, a Ph.D. at The University of Maryland while employed as a Research Economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C. Texas born and raised on a family farm, O’Dell is a Hays County Master Naturalist and a board member of the Ethical Society of Austin.
Randall Morris also stands to benefit financially from the $30 million FM110 developer road pushed by Narvaiz and Hays County Commissioners Debbie Ingalsbe, Will Conley and Jeff Barton. Given Morris’ financial contributions to Precinct 3 Commissioner Conley, it was not surprising when Conley took an active role in Precinct 1 to convince property owners that construction of FM110 would be to their advantage.
After one 80-year-old couple politely insisted that Conley leave their property, Conley retaliated by having the San Marcos law firm handling right-of-way acquisition for the county, Duvall Gruning & Dietz, PLLC, file an illegal suit against the elderly couple. Conley did so without commissioners’ court authorization and in his sworn affidavit made false claims. Attorney James Duvall surely knew the suit was illegal. We believe Duvall’s action has violated his professional code of ethics and that he has engaged in conflicts of interest with Hays County.
When HaysCAN sided with the elderly couple Conley promptly had his illegal suit withdrawn. During Conley’s blatant abuse of authority Commissioner Ingalsbe remained silent regarding his retaliation against two of her elderly constituents. According to public financial records, Morris has also invested in other elected officials and his influence is widely felt in San Marcos.
Other insiders also know how to play the game to benefit financially from public projects approved by elected officials whose election campaigns these insiders help to finance. Tom Loomis who lives in Austin has also made sizable campaign contributions to a number of elected officials, including San Marcos City Council member Kim Porterfield, wife of Winton Porterfield. Winton is Hays County point man for Loomis Partners, Inc., formerly Loomis Austin, a firm that continues to participate in projects throughout Hays County, including the new SMCISD high school, the County’s habitat conservation plan project, the Wimberley loop project and others. Commissioners Barton and Conley both received substantial contributions from Tom Loomis.
Unethical behavior is just a short step away from unlawful behavior. When government officials violate ethics and laws the result is unnecessary public waste, a waste that is reflected in higher taxes, lost opportunities and diminished quality of life. Such official misbehavior also undermines the foundation of our representative government.
The Hays County Road Bond connection
Susie Carter, a Kyle area Republican and former Precinct 2 Hays County Commissioner, was the bane of Good Ole Boys and she had to go. Attacked by Good Ole Boys from both political parties in the 2006 election, Carter didn’t stand a chance against Democrat Jeff Barton, who, along with former County Judge Eddie Etheredge had been turned out of office in 1997 amid cries of corruption and wasteful spending. The influx of new residents during the following nine years effectively erased voter memory.
Commissioner Barton wasted no time in attacking fellow Democrat Liz Sumter who engineered a stunning upset over Republican County Judge Jim Powers in November 2006. Barton had his own agenda and at the top was to get a huge special interest road bond passed that would expand three state roads and pave the way for still more development in Hays County, including in the Kyle/Buda area where the Barton’s own many properties.
These road and development special interests had funded the campaigns of Barton and two years earlier Republican candidate Will Conley for Pct. 3 County Commissioner. Now Barton and Conley had to deliver on those special interest investments. The Barton/Conley 2007 special interest road bond proposition failed after a citizens group gave voters factual information about the state highway projects to be funded by local property taxes.
Barton and Conley were undeterred by the voters. In the 2008 presidential election Barton and Conley got commissioners’ court to approve over a half million dollars of tax revenues to launch a propaganda campaign directed at new voters who live in Hays County but work in Austin. The campaign worked and now our local property taxes are being diverted to pay for state and federal highway projects costing over $225 million dollars that will reward Barton and Conley special interests.
Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties. Governments are susceptible to political corruption. Forms of corruption vary, but most common are bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft and embezzlement.
The Environmental Health & Road and Bridges connection
No department exhibits a history of cronyism, nepotism, or patronage more than the Hays County Environmental Health or the Road and Bridges departments. Allen Walther, who headed up EHD during the Etheredge/Barton 1990’s, retired in the first weeks of Sumter’s term after she had campaigned to root out government corruption. That left Tom Pope, EHD Programs Manager for onsite septic system facilities (OSSF), to carry on the non-enforcement tradition of EHD. But Pope got himself into what should have been serious trouble when he was caught permitting a non-compliant OSSF for Nick Ramus and then, we believe, tried to cover it up.
The remedy for unethical public officials is removal from office, and unethical professionals can have their professional licenses revoked or be barred from practice. Public officials and their accomplices who violate our laws should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Barton and Conley’s opportunity to save Pope came just four months into the Sumter term in the form of a 3-2 commissioners’ court vote that voided the illegal Ramus commercial OSSF permit issued in September 2006 by Tom Pope. Barton and Conley voted against revoking the permit and thus began a campaign to save a corrupt EHD by holding up Ramus as a victim of bad government. The details of this sorry episode of corruption, cover-up and orchestrated failure to investigate and prosecute crime in Hays County are the subject of Part III.
As co-founder of Hays Community Action Network (HaysCAN) in 2003, Mr. O’Dell strives to carry out the mission of ensuring open, accessible and accountable government. He is a long time and close observer of the workings of the Hays County Commissioners Court. He earned a degree in Agricultural Education and a Masters in Ag Economics at Texas Tech, and, later, a Ph.D. at The University of Maryland while employed as a Research Economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C. Texas born and raised on a family farm, O’Dell is a Hays County Master Naturalist and a board member of the Ethical Society of Austin.
12 comments:
O'Dell continues to connect the dots. It's all out in the open. Brazen, shameless, extremely profitable Hays County government corruption. A bunch of "boys and girls" still playing the board game "Monopoly" and suffering from arrested development.
Here is an indisputable fact: these greedy opportunists operate because we allow them to. We let them play their game, waste and even steal taxpaper money- all right under our noses, and we just keep on reelecting these crooks.
Hays County citizens just love these smiling politicians. When the wells run dry, these guys will just pick up and move. They will find more suckers further on down the road.
Mr. O'Dell is a man of courage to stand up and expose the "legally" corrupt powers that be in Hays County and its various bergs. One way for us "citizens" to make a difference (as it seems the voting booth is ineffective) is to BOYCOTT the real estate agencies and car washes and other various local businesses that are affiliated with the elected officials being outed in Mr. O'Dell's informative tomes. It’s a shame local citizens are so complacent about being ripped off by the people who they think are looking out for their fiscal interests.
The website seems to really dislike people who live in Hays County but work in Austin. Why? These residents are the majority in Hays County and shouldn't we be supportive of our residents. Times are changing (much to the chagrin of the residents of Wimberly) and until Hays County has more businesses, residents will need to commute to Austin for work.
Katie: What the h*ll are you talking about? Has YOUR commute gotten so much longer due to the new 7 traffic lights on 290- that, uh, you're disoriented? You make no sense.
Re.:
"One way for us "citizens" to make a difference (as it seems the voting booth is ineffective) is to BOYCOTT the real estate agencies and car washes and other various local businesses that are affiliated with the elected officials being outed in Mr. O'Dell's informative tomes."
Yes, Yes, Yes!!!!! There are certain R.E. agencies, car washes, gas stations, restaurants that I will never spend another dime at, because they simply provide monetary cover for opportunists of greed.
Mr. O'Dell is a man who takes a shred of truth in a story and spins it into a great story of conspiricy theories...but he tells it as though it's the truth. He can take a picture of two individuals shaking hands and turn it into a secret business partnership. This article is an example. If you print this article, the best use of it would be toilet paper or fire starter
I'd say Mr. O'Dell has laid out a pretty strong and clear case of unchecked, repeat, unchecked, quid pro quo in our local government, involving lots of money, lots of influence and many favors and paybacks.
An interesting thing that I learned today that bears investigating is who happens to be the LARGEST political campaign contributer in Hays County --- Charles O'Dell (and surprise, surprise!!) which campaign did he contribute to? None other than his patron and enabler -- Judge Elizabeth Sumter. I do not use the term fact yet, because of the desire to confirm this tidbit. Stay tuned. Maybe this will make a great conspiracy theory about HaysCAN and the County Judge having a "good ole boys" relationship that is one of privilege and special deals that is politically shady since Charles has his enemies list (ala, "Tricky Dicky" Nixon! - maybe a hero of Charles?) Hey Bob (Ochoa) here is a story you ought to investigate and print if any truth to it. But we'll see just how objective this website really is, and the Century News as well. (ha-ha)
A. Denials and distractions are the tools of professional politicians and crooks. B. Hays County DAs have never had the backbone to investigate political white collar corruption – current DA included. C. Commissioners court should take the lead and invite an FBI investigation. D. That ought to clear up what is fact and what is conspiracy theory.
Anonymous,
Better check your source...I haven't contributed a dime to Liz Sumter.
I checked Sumter's online financial reports for her 2006 election campaign and it shows my wife contributed $50 to Sumter's campaign.
I repeat...I haven't contributed a dime to Liz Sumter.
Katie states this website "seems to really dislike people who live in Hays County but work in Austin," and asks why. Thanks for that alert question.
The RoundUp guesses that Hays County residents who commute to Austin to work are not a majority but about equal in number to residents (retirees included) who make their living in county. We'll have to research that question further.
It's really not about "dislike" or "like," but balance and priorities.
For example, the $170 million road bond passed last November earmarks more than 80% to transportation improvements in the east and northeast parts of the county where most of the county's commuters reside, while 100% of taxpayers from ALL parts of the county are footing the bill – a big win for daily commuters but not so much so for in county workers.
County commissioners are now looking at building a new multi-million dollar county government center in San Marcos.
Who do you think will be the main beneficiaries of these two big ticket projects? The RoundUp guesses they will be out-of-county contractors, construction companies and consultants.
Next time you bump into your county commissioner, you might ask how much in DIRECT investment the county has in recruiting new businesses and jobs.
The answer is NOT MUCH, unless the county's economic development plan is "Build More Highways and A New Government Center."
Unfortunately for the time being, we're saddled with a commissioners court led by a big project-special interest-small picture mentality.
Just to keep the record straight, the 2008 road bond was for $207 million, plus there was another $19.5 million in special tax bonds Commissioner Barton had the court pass to keep his special interests working while he convinced voters with propaganda to approve the $207 million bond.
Taxpayers will feel the difference when they begin repaying those $227 million bonds.
I completely understand the argument that paying for roads in another part of the county can be a drag. That being said, that's how county government works. We are all one big family :)
What I don't understand is how you can be upset that roads weren't slated to be built in the Wimberley area? The last road bond election which was defeated by Wimberley residents had many road improvement in that area. What is sounds like to me is that you are no growth, not smart growth. No growth is a pipe dream. This county is growing and we have to adapt to the change.
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